-By Warner Todd Huston
Another week has gone by and the Big Three Networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC, again gave scant notice to the “house of horrors” that is the Kermit Gosnell abortion trial. The Nets had time for funny cat pictures on the Internet, a Canadian mayor bumping into a camera, and fun trivia about the book Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but little time for the shocking trial in Philadelphia.
As the week of April 15 came to an end, the prosecution finished presenting its case in the Gosnell trial, but the Big Three Nets still paid little attention to the story. The prosecution’s presentation included shocking horror stories such as parts of fetuses clogging the plumbing in the clinic, that assistants had no medical training or had no licenses to practice, that babies were born alive and breathing until Gosnell shoved scissors into the base of their skulls to kill them, that adult patients were killed by Gosnell and his workers but the nets weren’t interested on Wednesday and Thursday.
What did the Networks cover instead? An analysis by the Media Research Center of the three network’s programming revealed many fun and interesting stories.
On Wednesday April 17, ABC reported that Holly Golightly, the lead character in Truman Caport’s novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s, was originally going to be named “Connie Gustafson.” ABC’s Dianne Sawyer also had time to talk of comic book character Superman’s 75th birthday.
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Big Three Networks Cover Internet Cats Pics, Lit Trivia, Canadian Clumsiness, But Not Gosnell Trial”
It looks like the Sunday morning political shows got the same memo that Immigration is the topic of the day for April 7.
Chuck Todd presented an odd premise on last Sunday’s Meet the Press. Since the issue of gay marriage is now before the Supreme Court of the United States, Todd wondered if this meant that the economy is back on track because people’s attention has drifted from the economy to gay marriage?
The next episode of NBC’s Law & Order: SVU will feature another story “ripped from the headlines.” This time, the show that mines controversy will tackle “legitimate rape” ala former Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin.
Despite solid ratings and wide appeal to middle America, NBC is poised to replace Jay Leno with Jimmy Fallon as the host of the Tonight Show as Leno’s contract nears its end.
Catching up on how the media treated the days before Pope Francis became the new leader of the Catholic Church, as the Vatican hosted its conclave, NBC looked into the work of Asian Cardinal Luis Antonio “Chito” Tagle–a possiblePapal candidate–and came to the sad conclusion that he was just as traditional as any other cardinal. As NBC ruefully noted, Tagle is “no reformer.”
Matt Lauer, co-host of NBC’s struggling morning news show, Today, may have a new job offer. Reports are the Lauer is being considered as a replacement for Alex Trebek as host of the long-running game show, Jeopardy!.
Old NBC News hand Tom Brokaw made an appearance on MSNBC’s The Cycle on March 4 and criticized President Obama for campaigning too much instead of governing. Brokaw also castigated Obama for refusing to negotiate with Republicans over the budget impasse and the sequester cuts.
A new study by the Culture and Media Institute of Pope Benedict’s retirement reveals constant attacks, ridicule, and repeated allusions to scandals as ABC, CBS, and NBC reported on Benedict’s final days.
There was once a day when particular media outlets were so dominant that they could essentially make the rules on who they permitted to appear with them whether in print, on the radio, or on TV. Those days are long gone, of course. So, why does CNBC still think it has the power to demand that guests appear solely on its network? And, in so doing is CNBC depriving its viewers of the vital financial information that they need to plan their business days?
A survey of news coverage by the big three networks of the indictment of former Chicago Democrat Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. was sparse to non-existent for the first three days after the indictment was made public. Even when his trouble was reported, the fact that he is a Democrat went unmentioned.
In December, ABC’s World News saw no news at all in the historic appointment of African American Tim Scott to the Senate in South Carolina. No mention was made of it during the broadcast. 
NBC is taking some flack for casting Mike Tyson–a convicted rapist and accused serial abuser–as a victim of abuse in an upcoming episode of the TV show “Law & Order: SVU.”
We all remember Chris Matthews getting that 
The decision over whether or not to charge NBC’s David Gregory for breaking Washington D.C.’s strict gun-banning laws on a December 23 broadcast of Meet the Press is now in the hands of the D.C. Attorney General, authorities reported Tuesday.
Along with a news-free interview with President Obama, this weekend’s Meet the Press on NBC also gave us two fine examples of how the gun-banners in the Old Media establishment skew the debate, not to mention how clear it is that they simply have no grasp on the issues, perhaps purposefully so.
NBC’s David Gregory hosted the President on Sunday’s Meet the Press but compared to his last notable interview, when he verbally attacked his guest at every turn, Gregory was virtually asleep this weekend. Unfortunately, Gregory’s mostly timid questions and Obama’s rambling answers gave us nothing new.
On Sunday Senator Chuck Schumer tried to pass off the 1994 assault weapons ban bill that was canceled eight years ago as the reason that today’s violent crime rates have been down.
The story of David Gregory’s Meet the Press rifle magazine stunt is getting a bit more complicated. A new report says that NBC was actually told that waiving the 30-round magazine on TV would not be against the law.
Washington D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier has affirmed that the department is looking into allegations that NBC’s David Gregory violated D.C.’s gun banning laws during a recent taping of Meet the Press.
On NBC’s Meet The Press over the weekend, David Gregory was quite confrontational with the Vice President of the National Rifle Association over the organization’s idea of putting armed security guards in every school in America. But even as Gregory mocked the NRA for the idea, he seems to see nothing wrong with sending his own kids to a school that has armed security guards each school day.
On Monday, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley announced that she was appointing U.S. Congressman Tim Scott to the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jim DeMint. When he is sworn in on January 3, Scott will be the lone African American of either party in the Senate but this historic news didn’t seem to interest ABC or CBS as neither mentioned the news that night.